Macy Miles' one-hitter propels Naples to first Final Four since 2010 in win over Fort Myers

The Golden Eagles were destined to return to their roots.

The softball program that still leads Florida in state titles with 10 hadn’t been to a Final Four in 12 years. Virtually all of the Naples players were in kindergarten or younger the last time a Naples team made it that far.

Behind UCF signee Macy Miles’ complete-game one-hitter with nine strikeouts, the Golden Eagles shut out the Green Wave 5-0 Thursday night, becoming the fourth program at the school this year to advance to a state semifinal. They join baseball, girls lacrosse, and girls soccer as the programs to do so.

“Her alone, set the tone for everything,” Naples first-year coach Scott Angelico said of Miles’ outing in the circle. “She’s been that way for us all year long. Strong all year. Going into a game like this, we were basically considered the underdogs. We’re facing the reigning champions here.

In case you missed it: Island Coast baseball heads to state; Fort Myers, Naples, ECS softball on to regional finals

Previously: Here is our analysis of the baseball and softball regional brackets as the playoffs start

“These girls wanted it, they tasted it from the first time we played them, and they just keep rolling. That’s what we’re gonna do: roll, roll, roll.”

Freshman standout Mackenzie Leiti broke a scoreless tie in the second inning, blasting a home run to deep center field off Fort Myers starter Kylee Vagle. In the top of the third, Naples had a two-out rally, with Gabby Rascher plating Nia Cherenfant on an RBI single.

“It was really amazing,” Leiti said of the home run. “It was a whole team effort. We came out kind of slow, then we set the tone, and we knew we were going to win the game. It wasn’t just one person, because I came out and did my job, and my team came out when I wasn’t. It was great to win this one.

“We’ve just been putting a lot of hard work in. We’re not taking days off. Obviously, we get tomorrow off, but we’ve been putting the work in.”

After Rascher’s RBI single, Naples stretched the lead, loading the bases right after Vagle was taken out of the game and replaced by Julia Knowler. Miles reached on an error, while Melissa Morales, the second batter Knowler faced, cleared the bases with a triple to make it 5-0.

“The energy level went from first to fifth gear for us,” Angelico said of the second and third inning.

Miles expressed confidence in her team’s defense, which fittingly didn’t commit an error. It was the first game since April 27 against Bonita Springs where the Golden Eagles were perfect in the field.

“My team’s been working hard,” Miles said. “I knew the defense had my back. I went into this game ready to get after every batter, and I knew they had me.”

Trinity O’Connell broke Miles’ no-hit bid in the fifth inning when she singled up the middle to try and give the Green Wave life. Just moments later, O’Connell was called out for leaving first base too early trying to steal second, thwarting the Greenies’ attempt at putting together anything against Miles.

In the two games that Fort Myers has seen Miles this season, the Green Wave hit just .088 (4-for-45) with four walks.

“The game played a lot like the first one,” Fort Myers coach Dan Mills said. “We made mistakes in the first game, and it cost us. We made a mistake here where we could’ve gotten out of the inning, and it cost us. We couldn’t hit Macy Miles then. We couldn’t hit her tonight either.

“We struggled at the plate. We couldn’t get anything going. When we did hit it, it was right at them. We just couldn’t get anything going tonight.”

Naples (20-6) will look to add to their statewide lead in state championships and the first under a coach not named Robert Iamurri.

The legendary coach, now at FSW leading the Bucs softball program, led the Golden Eagles to each of their 10 fast-pitch state titles, with the last one coming in 2008. Fort Myers is denied of a chance to repeat as Class 5A Champions, ending their season with a 20-9 record.

Follow Southwest Florida Sports Writer Alex Martin on Twitter: @NP_AlexMartin. For the best sports coverage in Southwest Florida, follow @newspresssports and @ndnprepzone on Instagram.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Naples defeats reigning state champ Fort Myers 5-0 in regional finals